Someone Else's Heart
by whitchry9
Summary: Spoilers for episode 8. Ellie adjusts to life afterwards, Alec ponders getting the surgery, and they have the first meeting of the former detectives club at Ellie's house. For dinner. (Hardlie, not romantic.) 18 chapters. Rated for language.
1. Chapter 1

He didn't want to die, he was pretty sure about that, after all, every living creature would fight hard to keep holding on to it as soon as they saw it slipping away. He could remember gasping for breath as he lay on the ground, Miller standing over him.

So if he didn't want to die, then why didn't he want the surgery?

The odds of it killing him, of course. But really, what sort of a life was this, unable to do the job he loved, the only thing he had any more.

Of course, he was stubborn. He knew that. But maybe that was what had gotten him this far. How much longer could he keep going like this?

He was afraid he already knew the answer to that.


	2. Chapter 2

Alec glanced at the screen of his phone before picking it up. It was always nice to know what he was getting into.

"Alec Hardy."

"You bloody liar."

He winced and held the phone further away from his ear.

"Always nice to speak with you too Miller. Is there something on your mind?"

"I looked up that surgery, the one they said you should get, and the survival rate is really high. I don't know what you're going on about not surviving the surgery."

He took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes, sighing as she ranted.

"Miller," he said firmly. "I know that. But those are for average cases."

"Oh, and let me guess, you're special?"

He smirked.

"Oh yes."

She grunted. "Figures."

"So is that all you called for? To call me a liar because I'm special?"

Miller was silent for a moment. "Well, that and to convince you that you should get the surgery. You nearly died on me already, and if you're going to be coming around, I don't want you falling over at the drop of a hat."

Alec raised his eyebrows. "Coming around?"

"Yes, I'm inviting you over for dinner again. So just say yes for gods sake."

Alec slipped his glasses back on his face before replying. "Alright," he relented.

He could hear the smile as she spoke again. "Great. We're renting a place right now. Get a pen and I'll give you the address."

Alec scrawled down the address and listened as she went on about the house. He could hear the faint echoes of hope, her not wanted to admit to herself that things could be getting better, only for them to crash down around her again.

"So tomorrow?"

"Yes," she confirmed. "Oh and sir?"

"What?" He really should talk to her about calling him sir. He wasn't her boss anymore, and he wasn't even a DI.

"Just the wine this time would be fine."

He grinned. "Goodbye Miller."

He sat back in his chair and examined the piece of paper. Three weeks out since the case had ended, and she seemed to be doing fine. At least, as fine as anyone could be doing after finding out their husband,_ soon to be ex-husband, _he reminded himself, killed a little boy.


	3. Chapter 3

"Just wine," he confirmed, holding up the bottle when Miller came to the door, clad in an apron. It was an interesting look.

She grinned and threw her arms around him.

Hardy stood there stunned. He wasn't sure what to do with his hands. It was customary to hug someone back, but it was a bit hard to do that when holding a wine bottle. So he just left his arms sort of hovering above her back. "Erm..."

"Sorry," she said, releasing him and looking sheepish. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually missed you. You and your permanent beard and your hate the world attitude. It's kind of refreshing."

Alec opened his mouth to speak, but she continued.

"Come on in then," she said, reaching for the wine.

It was a pleasant dinner. She wasn't a bad cook. Tom regaled them with tales of a book he'd been reading about bugs and decomposition of dead bodies. Ellie had made face, but Alec was genuinely interested. Fred mostly made a mess of his food and attempted to grab Alec's beard at one point, but his hands weren't dextrous enough to get a good grip. He did manage to smear carrots all over it though.

Ellie grinned at him. "Bathroom's at the top of the stairs."

He scowled at her, but winked at Fred as he headed up to wash his face. The upstairs was small as well, two modest bedrooms, a bathroom, and a bedroom that looked more like a closet. One of the larger bedrooms had a playpen in it.

"Here you go," Ellie told Fred, heaving him into it, arranging some toys around him. He grabbed for one and began gnawing on it. Tom sat next to the playpen, flipping through a book.

"Do you want me to... help clean up or something?" he asked awkwardly.

She almost seemed surprised.

"Sure. You can dry dishes."

He followed her down the stairs and back into the kitchen, when a familiar sensation gripped him. He sunk into a kitchen chair, Ellie turning to see what was wrong.

"Hardy?" she asked. "Are you alright?"

Of course, she knew the answer to that. She could see that, his face pale and sweaty, a heartbeat jumping in his neck that wasn't a normal steady rhythm.

He tried to blink away the blurriness that was invading his vision, with little success.

He heard the baby start crying upstairs.

"Mum?" Tom called, hovering halfway down the stairs.

"Tom? Look after Fred will you?" she looked at him with a pleading expression.

"What's happening?"

"_Please."_

Alec saw the look of fear on Tom's face that was quickly replaced by one of determination. He gave a quick nod and went off to comfort his brother.

"Sir, what do I do? Do I need to call an ambulance?"

He shook his head fiercely. No. No more ambulances. No more unscheduled hospital visits.

"Pills," he gasped, vision darkening around the edges.

"Where?" she asked, sounding desperate.

_Yes, where are they indeed... _"Jacket," he guessed, hoping he was right, because if he wasn't, he had no clue where they were.

He should have sat down somewhere more comfortable than the kitchen table.

Ellie riffled through his jacket pockets, triumphantly unearthing the foil pack of pills he carried.

He held up two fingers and motioned for water, shoving them in his mouth and attempting to choke them down without, but only succeeding when she threw a glass at him.

He closed his eyes and focused on breathing. He could feel Ellie watching him anxiously. "Sir? Are you alright? Do you need anything else?"

"Need t'lie down," he mumbled, motioning in the direction of the sofa.

She heaved him up unexpectedly, nearly causing him to black out from the sudden change in position. Blimey, she was strong for someone so small.

She dumped him on the couch and stood over him with her arms crossed, Alec watching through one eye opened a slit.

"Can I go attend to my son without you dying on me?" she asked, and Hardy noted that Fred was still wailing in the background.

He nodded, hoping it was true, and he heard her footsteps go up the stairs and the crying stop.


	4. Chapter 4

He may have fallen asleep, or unconscious, or perhaps Tom was just really quiet when he snuck up, but when there was a poke to his shoulder, Alec almost jumped from the shock of it.

"Don't do that," he moaned. "You'll give me a heart attack."

"Oh god," Tom said, paling horrifically. "I didn't mean, I wasn't trying to-"

"Never mind," Alec told him. "I was kidding."

Tom looked unsure, but nodded. "I was just making sure you weren't... dead or something."

"That's very kind of you," Hardy told him, sitting up and groaning as his back protested.

"Mum's just putting Fred to bed, and she told me to see if you needed anything, or had stopped breathing."

Hardy raised an eyebrow. "Really..." he muttered. "Well, I'm good, but I would like to hear more about how you can tell time of death with insects," he said, patting the couch beside him.

Tom's face lit up as he sat down and began to speak.

All too soon, Ellie appeared from the stairwell.

"Tom, it's time for bed for you too."

The boy seemed to sag a bit, but nodded and headed up the stairs, one last look of something that could have been longing before disappearing.

As soon as he was out of sight, Miller hit Hardy across the shoulder. Hard.

"Oww!" he hissed. "What the hell was that for?"

"For nearly dying, _again. _How many times are you going to do that to me before dying for real? And not to mention you did it in front of Tom! If you died in front of him I will kill you myself."

Alec frowned. And he thought the evening had been going rather well.

"D'you still want help with the dishes?" he offered.

Ellie rolled her eyes at him. "No. I'd be afraid you'd pass out again. Are you even capable of driving yourself home?"

"Yes," he said defensively.

"Then go there now," she ordered.

Hardy stared at her.

"Yes," she said. "I meant it. One near death experience a night is enough. Go before you have another."

"That's a bit harsh," he grumbled, getting to his feet and shrugging on his jacket as she trailed behind him. "It was nice," he offered.

She didn't say anything else until he was well out the door.

"Just get the bloody surgery!" she bellowed after him, slamming the door with much more force than he thought was necessary.

"Good night to you too," he muttered. He slid into his car and rested his head on the wheel, focusing on breathing evenly until the fluttering in his chest settled.

He returned to the hotel. He really needed to look into finding different accommodations.


	5. Chapter 5

He didn't sleep well that night, plagued by nightmares he thought he'd finished with. After solving Danny's murder, and the sort of closure that came from the newspaper article about Sandbrook, they'd lessened in frequency until he hadn't had one for more than a week. Of course, this one was different, filled with Ellie shaking her head at him and flashbacks to her sobbing on the floor of the interrogation room, except this time he wasn't there to comfort her. It was unsettling.

He didn't like to dwell on dreams, and didn't think they had any deeper meaning, or at least hoped they didn't, but this one kept gnawing at him.

That was when he knew it was decided. He would be having the surgery, come hell or high water. God that woman was stubborn, even infiltrating his dreams, guilting him into getting the surgery.

Bloody Miller.

She would be the death of him.

He supposed he should probably call her or something, let her know. She'd be the only who would care, besides his daughter perhaps, but she still hadn't called him back. Best to leave that alone.

_After a date is set, _he decided, looking at his phone and her number up on the screen. _Best not to get her worked up if it's not going to be for a couple of weeks, maybe even months. She's got plenty to worry about._

The cardiologist managed to fit him in the next day, a fact that made Hardy somewhat suspicious. The appointment went as he suspected it would, being berated for his lifestyle choices up until then and the two instances within the past months where he checked himself out of the hospital against their advice. The EKG and echocardiogram showed the same thing as before, and he honestly wondered why they'd bothered doing it at all.

"Are you doing anything Monday?"

"What?" Alec asked, staring at him. It was Thursday now. Did they want him to come back for more tests and procedures, because he'd already had them done, more than once, and it was all getting rather redundant.

"For surgery. We can fit you in on Monday. I know it's a bit short notice, but I would like to get this done as soon as possible."

_Surgery. Monday. _That was an awful lot awfully quickly.

"Right. No. I mean, yes."

The doctor raised his eyebrows. "So we can schedule you for surgery on Monday?"

Alec nodded. "What sort of time?"

"We'd have you here for seven, and hopefully have you in by eight and out by ten."

"AM?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes."

Hardy sighed, but nodded.

"Excellent. Now, we do need to get some preliminary blood work and a urine sample. Talk to one of the nurse and they can get you all set up with that and go over the whole procedure with you. They'll also have forms for you to sign. Any questions?"

Alec shook his head and slid off the crinkly table, shrugging his shirt back on and buttoning it up. He felt naked without a tie, but without actually working, there was no need for him to wear one.

He listened dutifully as the nurse went over the actual procedure, complications that could result, more so in his case, and he signed the consent form in his scrawling hand. Looking at it, he was reminded of Miller's address, still sitting on the bedside table in his hotel room.

"You will need someone around for the week after your surgery," the nurse said.

"What?" Alec said, looking up.

He nodded. "We won't let patients home if they live alone, just in case. Do you have someone who can stay with you, or somewhere you can go?"

Alec frowned, but nodded. He would figure something out.

"Good," the nurse said, smiling warmly at him. Alec didn't like it. "Now I need to get a blood sample."

He looked away as the needle was stuck in his arm, and multiple vials of blood were drawn out and labelled.

The nurse snapped his gloves off, tossing them into a bin. "Just one more thing," he said, holding out a collection bottle.

Alec rolled his eyes but dutifully accepted the bottle and filled it up.

He collected his stack of pamphlets and instructions and was about to head out when the nurse stopped him.

"Any questions or concerns, feel free to call the clinic. And don't forget about the diet and liquid restrictions. Nothing after midnight except for clear fluids, but only up until two hours before."

"Thanks," he said grudgingly, and returned to his makeshift home.

He scattered the various papers across his bed and skimmed through them, reading ones that seemed important and ignoring the ones detailing complications. He already knew enough about those.


	6. Chapter 6

He made the call Friday night.

"Hello."

He didn't bother to say who it was. She would know. "So I'm having the surgery-"

"About bloody time," she muttered.

"Sorry, can I continue?"

She sighed.

"This Monday," he finished.

"Oh. Wow. That was fast."

"Yes, apparently they can move quickly when it comes to potentially fatal heart arrhythmias," he said dryly.

"Yet another reason why you should have had it done earlier..." she muttered.

He chose to ignore that. "Anyway, they won't let me leave the hospital unless there's someone to 'look after' me." He knew full well that she recognized the sarcasm in those words. "So if you could show up to check me out, claim you'll be looking after me, that would be... nice."

"No," she said firmly.

"What?" he protested. "Why not?"

He could hear her rolling her eyes at him. God, it was bad when he could hear eye rolling over the phone.

"Because, you idiot," she added fondly, "I'm not going to claim to look after you and just send you back to your bloody hotel room where you could die, only to be found by Becca a week later when she realizes she hadn't seen you."

"I don't think it would take her that long," he said kindly.

She snorted. "No, I will actually be looking after you. You can sleep in Tom's bed. "

Hardy groaned inwardly. "He'll hate me for that."

"Nah, let him see the incision, and he'll do whatever you want."

He was silent for a minute. "I don't want to know how you know that."

She exhaled loudly. "What time is it?"

"I have to be there for seven, and they're hoping to start at eight."

"I'll be there."

"No-" he protested. "That's ridiculous."

"You can't change my mind," she informed him. "I'll bring grapes again. That went over well last time."

"Miller-" he began to protest.

"Goodbye Alec," she said, and hung up.

Hardy just looked at his phone for a minute, flashing 'call ended'. God that woman was stubborn, maybe even as much as he was. There was nothing he could do now to convince her not to show up.

He didn't really want her to see him like that again. Between him looking like crap most of the time, and the incident where he did almost die, despite what he tried to convince her off, and the resulting hospital visit, he felt that she'd seem him broken enough. He wasn't huge on gender roles, but it bothered him to be the one needing taking care of, too weak to even look after himself. Of course, Ellie would be the same way, had been. Not from physical weakness like him, but the emotional and psychological turmoil that had come from finding out it was Joe.

He sighed and flopped back into his pillows.


	7. Chapter 7

He left his daughter a message on Saturday, giving her a brief overview of what was going on, failing to mention how dangerous the surgery could be, reassuring her that he would be fine and there was no reason to worry or come see him.

He hoped his voice didn't betray him, because he sure didn't believe it.

* * *

Monday morning came far too early, and not just in the sense that it was dark out as he drove to the hospital.

He checked in and was sent to a pre-op ward, where he was fitted with wires, sensors, and a cannula in his hand.

It was nearing eight, and he'd begun to convince himself that Ellie wasn't actually coming, that it was only something she'd said to be nice. Of course, just as he was going through that emotional roundabout, she waltzed through the door.

"Sorry I'm late," she said. "I had to get grapes." She brandished the bag and grinned at him.

He frowned. "Can't eat anything. Can't even drink."

"I know that," she scolded, swatting him slightly. "They're for later."

He nodded. "Where are the boys?" he asked.

"Olly's watching them for the day," she said, flipping through a pamphlet absentmindedly.

He made a humming noise.

"This is some heavy reading," she commented, referring to a pamphlet addressing the pros and cons of active and passively fixated leads.

"Great for going to sleep to," he replied, bored of them already, examining the probe on his finger.

She flipped through another couple of pamphlets before looking back to him, just as he was about to remove the probe to see how it worked.

"Oi, stop that!" she hissed, swatting his hand away.

"Ow!" he moaned.

"Well don't be such a child then."

He scowled at her.

She changed the subject. "So what exactly are you having done."

He took a deep breath. "Dual chamber, rate responsive, bipolar, steroid... covered or something, and actively fixed. General anaesthesia because they anticipate cutting me open more than they usually hope to."

She looked at him to see if he was kidding.

"Oh. Well."

"What's that?" he asked, eyeing a nurse injecting something into the newly hooked up bag of fluids connected to his hand.

"A mild sedative. We'll be taking you in a minute."

He glanced up at Ellie, silently pleading for her to not make a big deal out of it.

"Just don't die, alright? I don't know how I'd break it to Tom. He's actually quite fond of you."

"I'd begun to suspect so," he said seriously, nodding at her.

She punched him lightly on the arm. "Don't be a smart ass."

He shrugged and they begun to roll his bed away. "It just comes naturally."

One of the nurses who was moving alongside his bed bent over him to check on a monitor and smiled. "Is she your wife?"

"Miller?" Alec asked in disbelief. "No. We work, well worked, I guess, together."

She nodded. "Of course," she said with a knowing smile.

Alec shook his head. Like he needed more to worry about right now.

The sedative was obviously working, since his head was growing foggy, but not a bad foggy like he got when his heart was racing, but a comfortable, soothing fog.

He barely noticed as they transferred him to a different bed surrounded by a large piece of machinery and as people in masks gathered round.

A man put a mask on his face and told him to count backwards from ten.

He only made it to eight.


	8. Chapter 8

Ellie had been waiting for an hour when she began seriously reconsidering her decision to stay for the surgery, just like Alec had warned her. She could have gone back home to be with her boys for the two hours or more before she'd even be allowed to see him, but now that she was an hour in, there was no point.

Why did she even care about him? Really, if she looked at the reason she had to like him, the list was short. On the other hand, the list of reasons she had to dislike him, or even hate him, could probably stretch to the ground.

But he was the one who caught Danny's killer, despite the cost. Would she have been able to see that? No matter how conclusive the evidence was, would she have ever been able to see it, or even admit it? She didn't want to have to think about what could have been if she was the DI on the case rather than him. She begrudgingly gave him that point.

Of course, he was ridiculously stubborn and prideful, refusing help, refusing food and coffee, or accepting it with the most disdainful of looks, like it was personally offending him. She could see it, the coffee, the fish and chips, the thermos.

"_We brought you a coffee," she said, holding it out to him, but he only glanced at it before heading into his office._

"_I don't drink coffee."_

"_Course you don't," she muttered._

_The same sort of thing happened later that day when she got dinner. _

"_I can't eat that," he said, eyeing it like it was personally offending him._

"_You don't eat fish and chips?" His silence had been the only answer he gave, that and a look. "What kind of a Scot are you?"_

_He unwrapped it, looking at it with disdain._

"_It's all there is; eat or be hungry." She moved on to the reason she had brought him food, the case, and noted that as they talked, he picked at it. She'd been pissed at him for that, unable to accept anything. She even went so far as to tell him such._

Ellie groaned. It all made sense now, looking back.

His word choice his been so precise. "I _don't drink_ coffee," not "I _don't like _coffee." Likewise with the fish and chips. "I _can't _eat that." He was talking about an actual physical reason for why he couldn't eat them, not just because he didn't like them or didn't appreciate that she had gotten them for him. But in his goddamned stubborn way, he'd told her and she didn't listen.

Well. They would be having a discussion about that.

What about the grapes? She hadn't done anything awful with the grapes, had she? Grapes couldn't have harmed him, could they? She shook her head. Nothing to be done about it now.


	9. Chapter 9

So that rudeness could be wiped out, considering it wasn't him actually being rude, just refusing to explain the reasons why he couldn't accept her offerings.

But he still was abrasive, like the time with Brian from SOCO, not bothering to say hello before barging into the important parts. Maybe it was because he was aware of how time could be limited, having no patience for pleasantries.

Or maybe she was just making excuses for him. And if she was, the question became why was she doing that?

She couldn't help but feel they had an emotional connection, it was hard to work with someone for so long on a case like they did without getting to know your partner. And to be fair, they had more than the fair share of bonding moments, most notably Alec nearly dying during a chase and her gagging and her sobbing in his arms after being told her husband was a murderer. You couldn't help but have a connection after that.

Perhaps they'd somehow imprinted on each other, like ducklings, each others' faces being the one they saw during times of crisis, somehow telling their brain that this was a safe person, a person who you can trust and rely on.

Of course, it would be nice if her brain had consulted on her about it, because what was she supposed to do with a medically fragile, scruff faced, and grumpy former detective?

She almost laughed at that, because it wasn't like she was much better. The police woman whose husband was the killer, and she slept int he same bed as him and never knew. How could she not have known? _You can never know what goes on inside someone else's heart._

"Excuse me, did you come in with Alec Hardy?"

A nurse was standing in the doorway.

"Yes," she blurted, standing up, the magazine she wasn't reading tumbling off her lap.

"He's out of surgery and you can see him now," she said, smiling gently.

Ellie followed her wordlessly.


	10. Chapter 10

"He'll be waking up shortly. It's important for him to stay relatively calm so he doesn't pull out any stitches, so if he gets agitated, give us a ring and we can sedate him," she said, nodding towards the call button.

Miller nodded, still in shock at Hardy's appearance. He looked similar to how he did after collapsing during the chase, except, if it was even possible, paler. _Blood loss, _she supposed.

She sank into the chair at his bedside and looked at him, unsure of what to do. She barely knew the man. Was she supposed to hold his hand? Talk to him? What about? The only things they'd shared had been murder and tragedy, and somehow she didn't think talking about those would fall under the umbrella of keeping him calm.

Thankfully, she didn't have to ponder it long, as he began to stir, and after only a few minutes, opened his eyes and attempted to fix them on her.

His face was scrunched up in confusion.

"Sir, you've just had surgery. For your heart, remember? You're supposed to just stay calm and... rest I suppose. Do you need anything?" she asked anxiously.

He blinked at her and licked his lips a couple of times before attempting to speak.

"Miller, did they give me drugs?"

She nodded at his dazed expression.

"Oh," he sighed, closing his eyes.

She thought that would be it for now, that he would fall back asleep and wake up later, somewhat more lucid, but no.

"Milllllllllllller," he muttered, drawing out the l to almost unimaginable proportions. "Ellllllllllie," he continued, doing the same with her first name.

He giggled, and it almost made her fall over with the shock of it.

"What's so funny?" she asked, trying to stay upright.

He didn't answer, just kept giggling. She thought this was an excellent opportunity to take a video, just in case. For insurance.

"What's so funny Alec?" she asked, pointing her phone at him.

He only grinned stupidly. "Milllllllllller," he repeated, and broke out into giggles once again.

She shook her head at him. "You are going to kill me for this."

He only giggled more.

"Stop it, you'll pull out your stitches... or something," she scolded.

He stopped giggling and blinked at her. "What?"

"Just... rest, alright?" She almost felt bad because he looked so pitiful.

He nodded, shifting in the bed a bit and grimacing. "Told her not to come," he mumbled.

"Who?"

"Daughter."

"You told your daughter not to come?"

He nodded. "Didn't want her to get worried. S'not like her mum'll bring her."

Ellie nodded. "Sir?" she asked hesitantly, knowing this was probably the only time she was going to get an answer out of him. "Was your wife the one who lost the pendant?"

He frowned at her. "How'd'you know about that?"

"The article."

He hummed. "Yeah."

She only nodded, not knowing what to say. Regretting a lot of things she'd already said.


	11. Chapter 11

He frowned, rubbing his chest. "Hurts," he complained.

"Of course it does, you just had surgery. Leave it alone," she scolded.

He scowled at her and let his hand drop back to his side, where it lay for only a moment before drifting back upwards.

"Alec," she said, grabbing his hand before it could start rubbing at things again.

"It hurts," he moaned, fighting against her grip weakly.

"Fine, I'll see about getting you some pain medication or something, just... stop touching it," she finished, realizing she was using the voice she talked to Fred with. Shaking her head, she pushed the call button for the nurse.

A short blond woman appeared a moment later. "Yes?" she asked.

Ellie glanced at her name tag. Liz.

"Yeah, he's complaining about it hurting. I don't know if he can get medication for that or something... Stop that," she hissed at him, swatting his hand away again.

"He had a dose recently. Is it not working anymore?" she asked Alec, putting her stethoscope in her ears.

"No," he informed her.

She nodded and pulled down the top of his gown to listen to his chest. She finally finished, swinging it back around her neck.

"I'm going to go grab the doctor so he can have a listen, but there's no need to worry. I'll also check with him about more pain meds, okay?" she asked, one hand reassuringly placed on Alec shoulder.

He smiled at her as she left.

He'd probably smiled more today than he had in all the other times she'd seen him, Ellie realized. Perhaps she needed to drug him more often. If only that worked...

The nurse returned shortly with a man in a white coat, who listened to Alec's chest just as the nurse did. He glanced up at the monitors before turning to the nurse.

"Decreased breath sounds and sats have dropped a bit. Probably a bit of a collapsed lung. We'll keep an eye on it. If it gets worse, we can x-ray him and put in a chest tube. Hopefully it won't come to that."

"What, so you're not going to do it now?" Ellie asked, stepping in front of them.

The doctor shook his head. "We don't like doing invasive procedures when it's something that can take care of itself."

"So you're not even going to do an x-ray?" she asked in disbelief.

"We can, but it's probably only going to tell us what we already know."

"Well then you know you're right!" she insisted.

The doctor nodded to the nurse. "Okay, we'll get a chest x-ray."

"Miller," Alec moaned from the bed. But she didn't care. As long as shit was getting done, and her name was back to having the correct number of letters and syllables, she could deal with it.


	12. Chapter 12

They kicked Ellie out into the waiting room while they took x-rays, but she grabbed a handful of the pamphlets before she went, plopping down in a chair that had seen better days to sift through and find the one she was looking for.

"Pneumothorax," she muttered. "A collapsed lung. Not uncommon. Can be treated with a chest tube if necessary, but if it's small can just heal on it's own." She set the pamphlet down and sighed. "You would, wouldn't you?"

She sat there for a while, wondering what was taking so long, before just giving up and heading back, sure that someone had forgotten she was there waiting. As luck would have it, that was not why they didn't come to get her, but instead seemed rather busy jamming a tube in Alec's side.

"What the hell are you doing?" she exclaimed.

One of the nurses assisting turned to look at her, rushing over to her side.

"Oh, dear. I'm sorry you had to see this. Let's go back out to the waiting room and I'll explain."

Nodding, Ellie allowed herself to be led by the arm.

"The x-rays showed a bigger pneumothorax, that's a collapsed lung, than the doctor had expected, and by that time Mr Hardy was short of breath and in a lot of pain, so he decided the best option would be to put in a chest tube. He's not feeling any pain, we numbed up the area and gave him some sedatives, but it will be a bit sore later when he wakes up."

Ellie nodded, unsure of how she'd returned to the same room she'd just left. "Will I be able to go back and see him?"

The nurse nodded. "In a little bit. I'll come get you then."

The chair was no more comfortable this time.


	13. Chapter 13

The nurse did come to retrieve her this time.

Ellie stood there staring at him while she explained. If possible, he looked worse, his face covered with a mask rather than the small tubing it had before, and a large tube peeking out from his chest before disappearing again. She forced herself to focus on his hand, that looked well enough, and was surprised to find that she was holding it reassuringly.

"It'll extend his stay by a few more nights. The surgeon had been hoping for only a two night stay, but we're looking at a few more now. It all depends on how his lung heals."

Ellie nodded. "Is he going to wake up any time soon or?..."

"He's pretty well sedated. I don't think he'll wake up until the morning," the nurse explained, flipping his chart back over and hanging it on the end of the bed.

"Oh. Well, I think I'll go then, my kids are at my sister's..." she explained.

"Sure, no problem. You can see him tomorrow when he's actually lucid."

The nurse left the room, and Ellie gave him one final pat on the hand before leaving.

"I suppose I'll take the grapes. Just for now." She hesitated. "And we have to get t-shirts. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

She sighed, and left. Perhaps she should have been more specific. God knows the man could be oblivious. She was halfway down the hall when she was gripped with a sudden urge to tell him, just in case it wasn't clear enough. Spinning on her heel, she stuck her head in the door. "And by that I mean don't die. Good night."

Ellie hummed to herself as she left that time.


	14. Chapter 14

"Very special indeed sir," she told him the next day, smiling at him.

He frowned at her. "What?"

"Oh, you remember, you told me that you were _special _and that's why the surgery might not go as well for you. It turns out you were right. I quite like the addition. Are you thinking of making it permanent?"

He scowled at her. "Definitely not. It hurts."

"Yeah, they told me yesterday that it would. Of course, yesterday you were completely out of it." She shook her head.

Alec rubbed his face with the hand not tethered to the IV pole. "I really don't remember any of it," he admitted.

"Probably for the best. I brought the grapes for you, since you weren't able to eat them yesterday." She set them on the bed beside him.

He smirked. "Oh Miller..."

He reached for the bag, grimacing as he stretched.

"Oh, sorry sir," she stammered, getting up and pushing the bag closer to his hand.

"Don't call me sir," he told her. "I'm not your boss. Now are you going to feed me those grapes or what?"

She stared at him, trying to gauge if he was serious.

"I'm joking," he told her. "But I'm serious about the sir thing. I suppose you could call me Alec."

She could hear the way he said it, like it was unfamiliar in his mouth.

"Perhaps I'll ease into it," she told him, plucking a grape off for herself. "Stick to Hardy for now."

He nodded, plopping one in his mouth.

"Alright Miller."


	15. Chapter 15

She dumped him on the couch, grumbling about something or other. It was only five minutes later, when the mumbling slowed to a trickle, that he actually spoke to her.

"Where are the kids?" he asked, looking confused.

"Tom is in school, and Fred is with Olly."

"Olly," he muttered. "School? Why wasn't Tom in school on Monday?"

"Because," she said, throwing a quilt at him, "You managed to get a surgery on the only school holiday for a month."

"Oh," he breathed, realizing what that meant. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You told me not to come, remember?"

"That is true," he said seriously, spreading the quilt over his legs. "Of course, we both knew you weren't going to listen."

She only shook her head at him. "Just... sleep or something," she said, hovering in the doorway. "Whatever it is you're supposed to do. Rest. Be dull."

He frowned at her, but Ellie only shrugged as she turned to leave.

Alec glanced around the room. It was going to be a long day. Or days. Or, god forbid, a week.

He groaned.


	16. Chapter 16

Recovering wasn't as bad as he expected it to be. Fred seemed to have taken a liking to him, always amused with whatever his face was doing, and it seemed to be doing a lot more lately. Tom was still interested in bugs and forensics, and took time every night to update Alec on what he'd learned or read about. Ellie made faces and took Fred off to put him to bed.

It was nearly his birthday. He would be turning one. Alec had already been invited to the party. It would be small, her sister, Olly, Nige, him, and Paul, but small was good.

He didn't know whether to be relieved or sad that Fred wouldn't remember his father. At least he wouldn't go through the trauma that Tom did, but it was going to be hard for him to grow up without a father. And once he started asking questions, questions that Ellie was going to have difficulty answering, well, that wasn't going to be easy.

He waved his fingers at Fred, making him giggle and spit out whatever it was he had in his mouth. Ellie glared at him, but her heart wasn't in it.


	17. Chapter 17

It took him a lot bloody longer to recover than he'd have liked, it being almost a month before Ellie was willing to let him go back to the hotel. And by then, he really didn't want to.

"It still hurts," he moaned to her, rubbing his side where the chest tube had been.

"Well, deal with it," she told him, reaching for the marker next to his hand.

He pouted. "I was using that."

"No, you really weren't." She etched something onto the fabric and held it up for him to see. "It's all done now. What do you think?"

Alec looked up at hers, back down at his, then up at hers again. "Compared to mine, it's a Monet."

She looked at his. "Oh. Well..."

"It's alright Miller. I know it's awful."

He held his up with hers. It wasn't completely awful, but definitely lacking in the visuals department.

The both had the same text 'Former Detective's Club', but Ellie had managed to draw a badge and a magnifying glass, while all Alec had managed to do was draw some curved lines.

"What is that?" she asked, pointing to the lines. "Is it... well, I really don't know what it is. DNA?"

He frowned at her. "It's a fingerprint."

"Oh! Right, of course. I see it now."

He scowled. "I'd like to see you draw some DNA."

She picked up another marker with a smirk and carefully shaded in the double helix strands. She looked up at him triumphantly. "Like that?"

"I hate you right now, you know that?" he told her, frowning.

"Of course," she sang.


	18. Chapter 18

Tom and Fred had both gone to bed, and Ellie came down the stairs to find Alec skimming through a book.

"Are you even reading that?" she asked skeptically.

"Nope."

"Right," she said, throwing herself down on the couch beside him. "Wanna see this video I took?"

He eyed her suspiciously. "I suppose."

She passed him her phone and clutched a pillow to her chest for protection.

He watched with a critical eye as he giggled and butchered her name, all while under the influence of heavy duty narcotics. When it finished, he set the phone down.

"Miller," he said, looking at her very seriously. "If you ever show that to anyone, I will hunt you down and make your life miserable. Do you understand?"

She nodded. "Still... it's tempting," she smirked.

He shook his head. "Oh, just you wait until I get my strength back."

"Is that a threat?" she asked innocently.

"Oh, no, nothing like that. It's just that, Tom happened to let it slip you're incredibly ticklish."

She slammed the pillow down that she was holding. "He did not!"

"Oh, he very much did," he said, smirking. "Your secret is out."

She scowled at him. "If you weren't all broken I'd punch you."

"I can't wait," he drawled.

She threw the pillow at him.


End file.
